


For Drunken Nights and Your Sweet Tooth

by moeblobmegane



Series: ∞ Days with NagiRin [6]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Baker!Rin, Fluff, M/M, Teacher!Nagisa, Writer!Rin, climbed wrong window AU, mentions of Rin's dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moeblobmegane/pseuds/moeblobmegane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU in which Nagisa climbed the wrong window and Rin bakes muffins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Drunken Nights and Your Sweet Tooth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pinkblondie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkblondie/gifts).



> #NagiRinWeek Day 2: Sweets.  
> For Naya, because she's awesome and super supportive. I'm not that good at writing Momo but I _tried_. A for effort!  
>  I think I'm a little late? I'm not sure, what day is it, when did i last sleep.
> 
> I've always wanted to write an AU where Nagisa climbed the wrong window, because that's just _so him_??? And when I realized I could use the nagirinweek to force myself to write, I ended up choosing this. It's a dream come trueee. There is excessive amount of Rin-love and RinGou because I am the biggest fan of the Matsuokas.

The first sign of wrongness he sensed was the feel of the couch on his skin. Instead of the soft, warm cotton he remembers from the countless nights he slept over at Momo’s, he felt smooth, cold leather underneath his hand. To his sleepy mind, there was a silent question of ‘did Momo-chan buy a new couch?’ which, if he was awake, would have been an easy question to answer. Momo, like Nagisa, was broke as hell and only had furnitures due to his older sibling’s goodwill. There was no way he would buy a new one, especially not since his couch was so soft and comfortable already. (This one wasn’t even close.)

The second sign was the smell of the place. Momo’s apartment had the unfortunate joint smell of curry and wet soil; a smell that wasn’t  _bad_  per se, but also wasn’t good. Not like this one, at least. Not like this smell of freshly baked bread and…

Nagisa’s eyes shot open.  _Strawberry syrup_. He could smell the nice, sweet smell of strawberries.

He sat up, rubbing a hand on his eyes before standing up to follow that delicious scent. What he found was a beautiful red-haired man, clad only in black boxers and a pink frilly apron, standing in the middle of the immaculately clean kitchen with a mixer in hand.

“Hm?”

_This… wasn’t Momo._

The man looked back, the easy smile on his face dropping, replaced by wide-eyed shock. “Wha-“ He brandished the mixer forward like a gun, his eyebrows furrowed in a mix of fear and confusion. “Who the hell are you?!”

A small goop from the mixer flew to his cheek, and the first reaction Nagisa had was to wipe it with a finger and taste it. (To be fair, he just woke up.) It tasted  _soooo_  good. “Hmmm…” He sucked at his finger to savour the taste. “This is great,” he mumbled, still half-asleep. “Who are you?”

The man gaped at him. “That’s  _my_  question!” He yelled, stepping back, his eyes darting dangerously to the knife set on the side. “This is my apartment! How did you-“

A loud yawn interrupted his shout, taking both his and Nagisa’s attention. A familiar-looking woman, still wearing silky red pajamas and a bedhead, padded to the kitchen sleepily, eyes glancing around before she muttered, “Good morning, Nii-chan. Good morning, Nagisa-kun.”

The two stared at her, blinking repeatedly, as she continued on her way to what Nagisa would assume is the communal bathroom.

A second passed. Then two. And then-

“WAIT!” The door banged open. She stepped out and pointed at Nagisa. “Why are  _you_  here?!”

Nagisa sucked on his finger in thought. “Hm, well,” he hummed. “I was drunk yesterday. And then I missed the last train so I sneaked into Momo-chan’s apartment.” He nodded to himself. “But I got it wrong?” He tilted his head and offered his cutest, most innocent smile. “ _Oops?_ ”

“Don’t ‘oops’ me!” The man stepped forward again, placing himself between Nagisa and the woman as if Nagisa was some dangerous guy and not some poor helpless hungover person. “What kind of stupid-“

“Oh,” the woman said, moving forward and pushing the man to the side. “That makes sense. We haven’t fixed the window yet. An easy mistake to make.” She nodded and placed a hand on Nagisa’s back, pushing him to sit at the kitchen counter. “Your head must be killing you, then. My brother shouted at you so early in the morning, you poor boy.”

“I’m fine,” Nagisa said, shaking his head. “I don’t get hangovers much. This is nothing.”

“That’s good!” The woman clapped, pleased. “But you should eat breakfast, at least. What kind of hosts are we if we don’t let you eat, right?”

“Right!” Nagisa agreed, glancing at the pancakes on the kitchen table hungrily. He’d agree to anything she says as long as it would end with him eating those pancakes.

“Gou…” The man stepped forward, snatching her hands away from Nagisa’s shoulder. “You can’t just let strangers inside the house! What do you mean ‘easy mistake to make’?! You believe him?!”

Gou rolled her eyes. “Nii-chan, this is Nagisa-kun. He frequents the cafe, and he’s Momotarou-kun’s best friend.” At her brother’s blank look, she added, “Momotarou Mikoshiba? My part-timer?  _Our_  neighbour?” She waited for his nod of understanding before she smiled at Nagisa and gestured to her brother. “Nagisa-kun, this is Rin Matsuoka, my brother.”

 _Oh_ , Nagisa thought,  _she’s the owner of Kouffee_. It was this cute little cafe down by the block that served good, cheap coffee and scrumptious desserts.

Speaking of…

“ _You_  make the desserts?!” There was a tray of muffin at Rin’s side earlier, and he was obviously baking more. He stared at Rin’s face as it went from horrified to embarrassed to angry in the span of a few seconds.

“This is why I told you not to let anyone here!” Rin glared at his sister before dropping the mixer on the side and stalking off without an explanation.

“I didn’t let him in!” Gou shouted at his back. “It’s not my fault you didn’t buy a window lock!” She faced Nagisa again. “Ignore him,” she said. “He’s really sensitive when it comes to this, so you’re not allowed to tell anyone about him baking the desserts, okay? He thinks it’ll lose popularity or it’ll affect his image or something ridiculous.” The way she said that showed how she didn’t believe in any of those.

Nagisa frowned. “I don’t think the office ladies from block 5 would be against having a boxer-clad hot guy bake them some muffins,” he said honestly. “Actually, wouldn’t it sell more?”

“Right?!” Gou nodded empathically. “I bet it would become more famous if he comes with me to the cafe and show off his muscles.” She sighed. “He’s too worried about his reputation.”

“Why is he worried?” Is he some kind of famous person? Idol? Politician? Wait, he’s too young to be a politician. He has the body of an underwear model, so maybe he’s that?

“Oh!” Gou laughed. “Of course you don’t know,” she said, walking to the living room all of a sudden. She raised her voice and explained, “My brother is a fiction writer. Mostly science fiction.”

“Oooh!” Nagisa stood up, following after. “What does he- AHHH! I love that one! I don’t read books much but my friend gave me this for my birthday last year!” The book Gou was holding was about mermaids in Venus and how they helped a stranded astronaut go back home. It was a page-turner, with beautiful imagery and exciting action, weaved together with witty dialogues and touching moments. It was also the first in a trilogy, as far as he knew.  “I cried! Twice!”

Gou was grinning proudly now. “So you know him?”

He nodded, thinking about how he didn’t realize it because of Rin’s pseudonym. Instead of Matsuoka Rin, the name written on the cover was [M. Taiga]. He wasn’t sure why Rin was so worried if he was using a pseudonym in there anyway.

“Uwah~ My favorite author bakes  _muffins_.” Nagisa sighed dreamily. “And he’s  _hot_ , too.”

“Perfect, right?!” Gou laughed. She placed the book back on the shelf then pushed him back to the kitchen. “I’ll just get ready. Sit here and eat.” She forked a generous helping of pancakes on a plate, poured strawberry syrup all over it and put it on the countertop before patting the chair. “Nii-chan would be back sooner or later. He’s still got some muffins to bake.”

**\- - -**

As Gou predicted, Rin was back not even five minutes later, wearing a black shirt and shorts. He stopped on the side, glaring very obviously at Nagisa. “Why are you still here?,” he asked in a quietly menacing tone. “Go to your best friend’s place already.”

Nagisa gestured to his plate with his head. “I’m eating,” he answered through a mouthful of delicious pancake. “I can’t say no to food.” He grinned widely, eyes closing in bliss. “It’s  _so good_ ,” he moaned.

It was quiet for a moment, and Nagisa didn’t really care because he was trying to have a moment here. With his pancakes. That were out-of-this-world delicious.

Rin cleared his throat. “Get out as soon as you finish those, then,” he conceded gruffly.

Nagisa opened his eyes, staring at Rin’s pink cheeks. “I can’t ask for seconds?,” he asked, pouting. “Gou-chan said I should wait for her, though!” She didn’t really say it like that, but he figured he should wait for her anyway. Maybe she’d give him free gift cards next. Who was Nagisa to go away when there were blessings waiting for him here?

“You  _want_  seconds?” Rin looked incredulous, staring at his half-eaten plate. “You’d get a stomachache.”

“What?” Nagisa laughed and shook his head. “I won’t! This much is nothing! I can still eat more! Like muffins, for example!” He showed his innocent smile again, eyes staring right at Rin’s confused ones. “Do you have extra muffins?”

Rin narrowed his eyes and sighed, going back to his mixing bowl. Nagisa knew that sigh. He always heard it from people who had given up on understanding Nagisa’s logic. “I’ll give you muffins. So don’t tell Mikoshiba or anyone else about this.”

 _Victory!_  Nagisa nodded earnestly. “I promise!”

**\- - -**

The next time he drank, a week later, he trudged on to a window and opened it without much thought, plopping on the leather couch and snuggling into the not-so-soft throw pillow on it.

He woke up to a frustrated noise of anger and a shadow looming over him.

“Did you make a mistake again?,” Rin asked, frowning disapprovingly at him.

“Nope!” He smiled sleepily, raising a hand to pat Rin’s arm. “I was hoping for free breakfast!”

Rin gaped at him, obviously surprised to hear that response. “Don’t you have any shame? At all?”

Nagisa yawned and shook his head, sitting up slowly. “For your muffins? I would happily throw away my pride.” He grinned at Rin’s stupefied expression. Then, he leaned forward, cupped his mouth and whispered conspiratorially, “I’m your number one fan!”

Rin stared at him for another beat, color rising to his cheek, before he sighed and shook himself out of it. He turned his back on Nagisa and walked to the kitchen without another word.

A few seconds later, he shouted, “Freeloaders can’t get seconds!”.

“Stingy!” Nagisa shouted back, but he was laughing to himself.

**\- - -**

Momo was confused about Nagisa and Gou’s newfound friendship. He was even suspicious of it, or as suspicious as Momo could get. So the moment the two walked into the coffee shop together, Momo was all up in their faces.

“You came together!,” he exclaimed, eyes narrowed. “Boss Gou-chan! Why are you with Nagisachi?!”

“We saw each other on the way,” Gou explained easily, walking towards the counter without pause. “And we’re friends, right Nagisa-kun?”

“Right!” He smiled widely. “We like the same books!,” he added with a wink towards her. She laughed.

Momo still seemed confused, but nodded slowly. “Okay…” He pouted then, crossing his arms. “But you can’t like Nagisachi more than me, Boss Gou-chan!”

Gou looked up from where she was checking the cash register. “I already like him more than you, though,” she replied nonchalantly.

“BOSS GOU!!!” Momo dropped to the floor in a melodramatic heap. Gou didn’t even blink an eye.

Nagisa crouched beside him and patted him on the back comfortingly. “Don’t worry, Momo-chan. You’re still my favorite.”

“NAGISACHI!”

No one even reacted when Momo sat up and bear hugged Nagisa, probably already used to the overly excitable waiter. Nitori, the barista, had that look on his face like he was just  _done_  with Momo and his shenanigans. The poor soul.

After a minute or so of dramatic love confessions and hugging, Momo went back to work and Nagisa went to the counter to order. Nitori was waiting for him with an unimpressed expression. “What would you order today, sir?,” he asked, with a strained smile and forced cheer.  _Ah, customer service at its best_.

“Mocha frappucino with extra whipped cream!” He ordered, smiling. “Oh and Gou-chan said I could have some free red velvet cupcakes to go!”

Nitori’s eyebrows furrowed and he walked to the side. “Boss? You’re giving Hazuki-san free cupcakes?”

“Yeah! Just put it in a box!,” Gou shouted from her small office at the back.

Nagisa feigned a gasp of affront, clutching his chest dramatically. “You don’t believe me, Ai-chan?!”

“I was just making sure, sir,” Nitori said with a polite tone, even though there were hints of red on his cheeks from embarrassment. He went off to work on the frappucino, glancing every now and then at Nagisa. Seemingly unable to keep the question in, he paused and remarked, “I didn’t even know you like books.” There was suspicion mixed in with the statement. Why are everyone so suspicious of him these days? He only climbed a wrong window  _once_. They didn’t even  _know_ he climbed a wrong window.

“I don’t really,” Nagisa agreed, laughing it off. “But I read one I liked and Gou-chan let me borrow some more from the same author.”

“Oh!” A genuine smile appeared on Nitori’s face. “Taiga-san’s?,” he asked, excitement clear in his tone . He must be a fan as well.

“Yep! I like the adventures! Do you read the books too?”

Nitori’s expression turned brighter, excitement clear on his face. “Yes! Rather than the adventure, I’m very much a fan of how he writes the characters and the depth of emotions they have. It’s so unquestionably human? I know it’s mermaids in space, but still it feels like you can relate to them. And there’s…  _warmth_  in it. I’ve never met Taiga-san but I bet he’s a really nice person.”

Nagisa’s first impression of Rin wasn’t really ‘ _nice’_ , but his muffins were delicious and no one who could bake those kind of desserts could be  _bad_. Besides, Rin and Gou had a great relationship, and his smiles for her… Nagisa would categorize them as  _warm_. Maybe Rin was just the slow-to-warm type. He heard it from Mako-chan before, that students had different types of temperament and that teachers should learn how to handle them differently. (And since Mako-chan was the greatest teacher Nagisa has ever worked with, then he was obviously always right.)

“You’ve never met him?,” he asked when Nitori slid the frappucino towards him. He took out his wallet and rummaged for the pay as he continued, “Doesn’t he come here or something? Doesn’t he visit Gou-chan?”

Nitori shook his head sadly. “I’ve always wanted to meet him, but Boss said Taiga-san doesn’t like sweets and he’s too busy writing or touring to come here.” Giving him his change, he smiled a bit. “But I’ve seen him before in a signing event. He looked really cool! And he was very nice to the children during the book reading.” He sighed dreamily.

“And he’s pretty hot, right?” Nagisa said absentmindedly, staring down at the glass display of desserts.

“What?” Nitori raised an eyebrow at him, crouching down to pack his red velvet cupcakes.

“Nothing!” Nagisa said, laughing. “Just thinking out loud…”

**\- - -**

The third time he went to the Matsuoka’s apartment, it was in the morning and he didn’t even have the excuse of being drunk. It was also 7 am on a Monday, two days after the last time he came in and too early in the morning for people to be actually doing anything productive.

Rin stared at him from the kitchen for a beat, and then sighed out exasperatedly. “We have a front door,” he said.  _Unless your Rin_ , of course, who bakes as soon as he wakes up probably _._ Like a muffin-producing robot.

Nagisa nodded. “Yes, but that’s not fun at all.”

“Someone could call the police on you,” Rin said, frowning. “That would be troublesome.”

“I’m  _very_  good at sneaking around, though!,” Nagisa exclaimed with a huge smile. “Don’t worry about me!”

“I’m not worrying about you,” Rin said flatly. “I’m worrying about my privacy. I don’t want police officers coming here for no reason.”

Pouting, Nagisa walked over to the couch and slumped down on it, his blonde hair being the only visible part from the kitchen.  “You’re not supposed to be like this,” he whined. “You’re supposed to be more adventurous!”

There was silence, and when Rin spoke, his voice had turned colder. “I’m sorry to be such a disappointment, but as you’ve already seen me for who I am, I figured I’d just go all-out,” he said with a dry tone. “I’m not here to entertain you.”

The air felt heavier now than it was before, and Nagisa had a distinct feeling of having done something wrong. He stood up, his footsteps the only sound as he rushed to the kitchen counter and sat on the chair. “I’m sorry!” He stared at Rin’s back, pouring his honesty into his voice. He wasn’t sure what Rin’s issue was, but he knew for a fact that the man refused to bake in the cafe in fear of his name being tarnished. There must be something there that Nagisa has yet to figure out, a sensitive topic Nagisa should be careful of. “I offended you. I’m sorry.”

A bit of tension seeped out of Rin’s shoulder and he looked back skeptically at Nagisa. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “You… you’ve read my books?” An olive branch, and perhaps a subtle way to show forgiveness.

“Yeah!” Nagisa nodded enthusiastically, relieved to be on safer grounds now. The last thing he wanted was to piss off Rin and risk not ever getting free muffins again. “My friend has every book you have. He has two of each! He bought me  _Venus_  for my birthday.” He scrunched up his nose, remembering Rei’s words. “He said I should read more since I’m a teacher. I mean, he’s a  _physics_ teacher _._ He probably benefits from reading sci-fi, but me? I’m-”

“Wait!” Rin stared at him, unmoving for a few seconds. “You’re a  _teacher_?”

Another nod. “I’m a history teacher at Iwatobi High School!”

“Students have to listen to you?!,” Rin asked, much louder and packed with so much disbelief. “I thought you were a college student! And seriously, _history_?!”

Nagisa grinned. “I look young!,” he exclaimed proudly. He knew his small stature and his baby face made people assume he was a student instead of a teacher, and it also made parents dubious of his skills. He has heard them all. He crossed his arms then, feigning a scolding tone. “And Rin-chan, you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Teachers shouldn’t climb into other people’s windows! That’s common sense!” Rin crossed his arms as well, mirroring his move. He was scowling, a truly childish expression on his face. “What if children see you and think that’s normal?!”

“I’m good at sneaking around,” Nagisa reiterated with a shrug. He’s been sneaking into Momo’s apartment for almost a year before he got it wrong. All that time, he wasn’t spotted by anyone. He’s really good at this. Waving that thought away, he leaned forward and peeked at the array of things in front of Rin. “Hey, hey, aren’t you baking anything yet?”

Rin gave him a disgruntled look. “Our apartment isn’t a bakery,” he drawled, turning his back to Nagisa and going back to whatever he was doing. He was specifically angled in such a way that Nagisa couldn’t see what ingredients he was using. He probably planned that to annoy him. “If you want to eat something, order something at the cafe.”

“But then I’d have to pay for it!” Nagisa whined. “And it’s not freshly baked!”

“You’re awfully choosy for a freeloader.”

“Rin-chan, I’m just taking the opportunity fate gave me,” Nagisa explained slowly. “You shouldn’t fight fate, Rin-chan. You  _shouldn’t_.”

“So I should provide you with free baked goods, you mean?” Rin’s voice already had that ‘I’m just gonna give Nagisa what he wants’ tone in it.

 _VICTORY!_  Nagisa happily nodded. “Yes, please!”

**\- - -**

“Ai-chan said Gou-chan said you don’t like sweets.” Nagisa was sitting on his usual bar chair by the kitchen counter, licking clean a spoon Rin was using earlier. The first time Rin saw him do this, he was so angry he almost threw Nagisa off the window. He said it was ‘unsanitary’ and ‘so childish he can’t even comprehend’, but Nagisa persisted with the puppy eyes and before he knew it, Rin had gotten used to having lots of spare spoons so he could just drop the used ones in front of Nagisa. He’d wryly said Nagisa was like a puppy. But it didn’t matter what Rin said, as long as Nagisa could lick all the spoons clean, so he didn’t object to the comment.

“Hm?” Rin was busy measuring flour and looked like wasn’t listening much. Although, sometimes he hears perfectly what Nagisa says but can’t figure out Nagisa’s point so he acts like he hasn’t heard. It’s a toss-up with Rin. “What?” It was probably the second one this time.

“Do you really not like sweets or is it part of the whole mystery persona?” He’s noticed that Rin never left any of the baked goods for himself, and when they eat breakfast, he eats traditional rice, egg and miso soup despite the array of sweets on the table.

Rin stopped and placed the packet of flour on the side, humming thoughtfully to himself. “I don’t  _hate_  them,” he answered, which really wasn’t much of an answer.

Nagisa frowned. “You bake so much, though. If you don’t like it…”

Rin looked confused now. “I don’t bake for myself,” he said like it was obvious. “I only bake for the cafe. I taste them to see if they’re good but they’re not for me, so…”

“You started baking because of the cafe?” Nagisa thought he was too good for that.

“No…” Rin’s eyebrows were furrowed, eyes unfocusing for a second. “But I didn’t start for  _me_. I started baking for… for Gou.”

Nagisa couldn’t stop the coo he let out. “Aw! You started baking for Gou-chan?! Why?”

Rin went back to measuring dry ingredients, his voice quieter when he spoke again. “Mom forgot her birthday,” he said, no trace of emotion in his voice. A monotone narration. “I searched the internet on how to make a cake, and then I asked our neighbors for some extra ingredients. I made Gou design it with me.” This time, a small smile appeared on his lips, voice getting just a bit warmer. “I told her that mom didn’t buy a cake because she knew we’d make a better one than the bakery’s. Gou was really bad with it, though. It looked all sloppy at her side.” He chuckled. “Not that she has any talent with it now. She still sucks at it.”

His heart warmed at the image of a little Rin doing all of that for his sister. It really seemed like something he’d do.

“I’ll tell Gou-chan you said that!” Nagisa said cheekily, sticking out his tongue.

Rin rolled his eyes at that, already used to Nagisa’s jibes. “You won’t.”

“I  _could_! You never know!”

“And risk never eating these again?” He gestured at the kitchen at large, the smell of the baking cookies in the oven thick in the air. He smirked. “I doubt it.”

Nagisa pouted, narrowing his eyes at Rin. “Are you going to blackmail me now that you’ve found my weakness?”

Rin laughed. “You bet I will!”

**\- - -**

A few days later, the question of why Rin bakes came back knocking in his head again. While he knew the practical answer, it still felt like there was something more to it. He needed to know more. And when he’s this curious, he couldn’t stop digging. So he went to the next best source of information besides the man himself.

“Gou-chan~” He strode over to the counter of the cafe, grinning widely.

Gou’s professional smile turned into the warmer real one she’s been giving Nagisa for a while now. It would never cease to amaze Nagisa how much he and Gou hit it off, becoming almost like best friends when their first real conversation happened less than a month ago. (Then again, him climbing through their window and eating breakfast with them every now and then might have sped that process up.)

“Nagisa-kun!” She waved her hand then pointed to the glass display on her side. “You’re going to taste test a new cupcake today, okay?”

“Eh? I will?”

She nodded, and then when he was close enough, she leaned forward and whispered, “Nii-chan said you’ve been pestering him for a new one. He said he was bored so he just made it. He told me to let you have one when you come by.” She giggled, obviously amused. “It has strawberry cream filling!”

His eyes widened, an excited smile spreading on his face. “OH! My favorite!”

“Right?! Nii-chan doesn’t know subtlety at all.” Her eyes were shining in joy. It was like magic with those two, the way they felt so strongly for the happiness of the other. Nagisa had three sisters of his own, but he didn’t have even an inkling of this kind of connection with them. He barely even called them now that he was living away from home.

Before Nagisa could say anything to that, Momo appeared on Gou’s side, looming and with his eyes narrowed suspiciously at the two.

“Boss Gou-chan,” Momo started with a weirdly intent voice. “Nitori-senpai taught me how to design a latte. Are you proud of me?” His eyes were wide and expectant. Like a little puppy waiting for treats.

Nagisa suppressed a laugh. His best friend was  _adorable._

Gou faced him and put on her manager smile, placing a hand on Momo’s shoulder. “I’m very proud of you, Momo-kun,” she said, nodding.

“You’re great, Momo-chan!,” Nagisa added with a wide grin. He raised both fists up. “Wooh! So great!”

Momo’s expression melted into bliss. “YAY!” He shouted, both arms stretched up into a victory pose. “I was praised!”

Nagisa and Gou shared a look, laughing. “You should design mine!” Nagisa suggested, knowing Momo would want to do one for him. “You can draw Pyunsuke in mine!”

The smile on Momo’s face widened even more. He saluted, eyes shining and cheeks red with zest. “Okay! Boss Gou-chan, can I make one for Nitori-senpai too? I wanna draw him in a latte!”

Gou nodded fondly, patting Momo on the arm. “Off you go, then.”

It took a few seconds of watching Momo work before Nagisa remembered exactly why he was here on the first place. “Oh! I was going to ask you something, Gou-chan.”

“Fire away,” she said magnanimously.

“I was wondering why-” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I was wondering why Rin-chan is baking. He said he doesn’t like sweets much.”

She looked confused. “He’s baking for the cafe,” she answered, matter-of-fact, almost the same way Rin did.

“Yeah, I get that,” he said, waving a hand to gesture that it wasn’t the point. “But why?”

She frowned before motioning to the whole cafe with both arms. “My cafe isn’t big at all and the only reason I’ve got these much customers is because Nii-chan bakes the best muffins in this town.”

“Oh, so it really was for you,” he murmured to himself, nodding slowly. “Was it your idea?”

Her expression softened as she shook her head. “I was struggling so he stepped up to help,” she said. “He’s always been…” There was a touch of sadness in her expression. “He always went an extra mile for the family. He suggested baking for the shop and he even made the menu himself.”

Nagisa hummed, taking all of that in. “He’s really good for someone who doesn’t like it much,” he said, still having a few doubts in his head.

“He never said he didn’t like baking, did he?” She raised an eyebrow at him knowingly. “He doesn’t like eating what he bakes, but he likes baking  _a_   _lot_. That’s why he’s so good on the first place. It relaxes him. I think it helps him think for his novels.”

“That makes sense! He must be bored at home if all he does is write.” He giggled. “But he’s right about it not fitting his image. Rin-chan’s not sweet at all.” Just as he said that, the image of a younger Rin and Gou baking a birthday cake passed through his mind.  _Well,_ he thought,  _maybe a little sweet_.

**\- - -**

The next few weeks saw the formation of various routines in Nagisa’s life. Before, he went to the school and to Momo’s, and sometimes out with his other teachers. But now, he had breakfast every Saturday at the Matsuoka’s apartment, and he went to Kouffee everyday, a counter seat reserved for him. Gou  _literally_ put a [Reserved for Nagisa Hazuki-sama] on top of the seat.

Momo was jealous at first, but at Gou’s “if we have this, Nagisa-kun’s going to come here everyday”, he was easily convinced. Apparently, he thought hanging out with Nagisa in his apartment wasn’t enough anymore. He needed to up his best friend game because he didn’t want Gou to steal his spot.

“So is he jealous of me for being your friend or is he jealous of you for being close to me?” Gou was sitting on his side at the counter, doing inventory here instead of her office so she could chat with Nagisa.

“I think it’s both,” Nagisa pondered, tapping his pen on his cheek. “Momo-chan wants us both!”

Gou frowned. “That sounds weird.”

“It does,” Nitori agreed from where he was refilling coffee beans at the other side of the counter. “I don’t think we should dig deeply into Momo-kun’s thought process though. It’s…” He squinted thoughtfully, searching for the perfect word. 

“Out of this world,” Nagisa filled for him. “Someone just told me that.”

Nitori was nodding in agreement to the statement. Gou giggled immediately, realizing it was his brother Nagisa was talking about. Just a few days ago, while Nagisa was giving him new ideas for his next books (like Penguins in Pluto), Rin had huffed out ‘your thoughts are out of this world’. Gou and Nagisa simultaneously laughed at him for the pun. Which was a mistake, because Rin refused to give Nagisa his usual box of cookies when he went home.

“Nagisachi!” Momo came in through the front door, smiling widely and waving his hand that wasn’t holding a broom. Being the younger of the two employees, Momo was always tasked with cleaning outside. He rushed forward, going to the storage quickly to hide the broom, and then went back to sit on Nagisa’s other side. “Boss Gou-chan, we’re almost done, right?”

She looked around at the empty cafe. “Yeah, we could close now. Do you have something you need to do? Me and Ai can tidy up on our own.”

“Really?” Momo grinned. “I’ll stay longer tomorrow, I promise! I just have something to show Nagisachi!”

Nagisa blinked, not recalling any plans they made for today. “What is it?”

“It’s a secret!”

**\- - -**

The secret was, to Nagisa’s utter amusement, a gift from Momo. So, maybe he was winning the ‘who is Momo jealous about’ competition. They don’t give gifts much unless there’s an occasion. And his birthday was long gone. If anything, Momo was the one whose birthday was in a few weeks. This smelled fishy.  _A bribe?_

“I saw this and I thought of you!,” Momo exclaimed.

 _No, that’s wrong_ , Nagisa scolded himself. Momo wouldn’t do something like bribe him for his affection. It wasn’t obvious if you look at the two of them, but Momo was the purer one in this relationship, and the one who was just completely earnest in everything he did.

“What is it?” Nagisa pulled the rectangular package and ripped off the brown wrapper, feeling an increasing amount of hilarity at the situation the more of it was revealed. It was a  _book_. But not any other book! It was-

“It’s the sequel to  _Venus_! They just released it in the bookstore this morning and I saw it when I was buying things for the shop!”

Nagisa couldn’t hide the laughter anymore, sitting down on the fluffy couch and laughing until his stomach hurt.

“You’re  _that_ happy?” Momo asked, both excited and confused. He sat beside Nagisa, staring at his face. “You like it?”

“I do! This is great!” Nagisa threw an arm around Momo and hugged him close, still laughing. “You’re the best, Momo-chan!” He can’t  _wait_ for Momo to meet Rin.

**\- - -**

…Though, when he thought about Momo and Rin meeting, he never quite imagined it happening  _soon_.

As fate had it, on an average Saturday morning, Nagisa, Gou and Rin’s breakfast was interrupted by a loud shout from outside.

“Pyunsuke!!!” was the only thing they heard before Nagisa noticed a small beetle flying through the window he left open. ( _Oops?_ ) “Pyunsuke! Wait!” And then, the next moment, a head was popping out of the same window. _Momo’s_ , in particular. His hair was still uncombed and Nagisa would bet he’s still wearing his green pajamas. Pyunsuke must have flown outside when Momo was opening the window to check the weather or something. “Wha-”

Rin looked at Momo in shock, and then glared at Nagisa, registering straight away why the window was open. “You fix that,” he said, false-calm. Hidden in his words was the threat of  _no more cookies for you_. He stared back down at his plate and continued eating, pointedly pulling the plate of desserts to his side even though he wasn’t even eating it.

“Hello!” Nagisa hurriedly jumped off his seat and ran to Momo, offering his hand. “Come in?”

“Nagisachi…” Momo took his hand and pulled himself inside. “Why are you here?”

“I’m visiting!” Nagisa explained, tugging at Momo’s arm to pull him towards the two. “It’s a  _long_ story, but anyway, I’m friends with Gou-chan’s brother too.”

Momo’s brows furrowed as he pouted. “You never  _said,_ ” he whispered, feeling betrayed.

Nagisa nodded, offering an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” He pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture. “I said Gou-chan and I liked the same books right?”

Narrowing his eyes, Momo nodded.

“Well, actually, her brother is the author.” He motioned to the bookshelves lining the walls of the living room. “Remember? The book you bought me?”

Momo’s eyes widened and he darted a glance at Rin. “You’re Taiga-san?!”

“Uh.” It was the first time Nagisa has ever seen Rin look like this, a deer-caught-in-headlights expression on his face. “It’s a pen name.”

“He’s Rin-chan. Matsuoka Rin-chan!” Nagisa gestured to him with jazz hands in a ‘ta-da!’ motion. Rin glared at him.

Momo stepped forward, eyes wide and sparkling in a way that Nagisa has only seen one other time.  _Uh-oh_. “Awesome!,” he exclaimed, offering a hand and shaking Rin’s hand multiple times when he accepted. “Nagisachi made me read  _Venus_ last year and I didn’t want to at first, but I really, really liked it!”

 _And you look really, really cute too,_ Nagisa filled in his head. He was sure it was in Momo’s thoughts right now, anyway. While Rei was a fan of ethereal beauty (like the mermaids in the story), Momo is a fan of _cuteness_. But his idea of cute is different from everyone else’s. Gou was frowning in confusion at him, hair up in a messy bun, when Momo first saw her moving into this apartment. He said she was  _the cutest human being on earth_.

Rin and Gou were just one-year apart. And looked very similar, almost to the point of looking like fraternal twins.

Nagisa tried to smother a laugh on his hands as he watched Momo’s admiration-filled eyes and Rin’s bewildered ones. He tugged at Momo’s arm and asked, “Do you wanna eat breakfast?”

“We’re not a diner,” Rin blurted out, unable to keep that one in. It’s almost a running joke now how many times he reiterates what their apartment is  _not_ (among Nagisa’s favorites are: bakery, movie theater, and on one special occasion, bath house).

Gou slapped a hand on Rin’s arm reproachfully. “You’re welcome to join us,” she said, smiling. “It would be  _rude_ not to.” She directed that last one to her brother.

“Right!” Nagisa nodded and pushed Momo to sit on the empty seat at his side. “Ri-” He stopped, eyes wide. “Gou-chan is a really good cook!,” he amended.

At that, Momo looked like he was in  _heaven_. “Wah! I get to eat Boss Gou-chan’s food?! Thank you, Pyunsu-” He froze.

“ _Pyunsuke!”_ Nagisa exclaimed at the same time, jumping out of his seat the second time and looking around with wary eyes. The next second, he and Momo were running around the room, trying to find the beetle.

“What the  _fuck_ ,” Rin muttered, probably wondering where he went wrong in his life.

**\- - -**

With the addition of Momo to their Saturday breakfasts (because Nagisa owed him for lying by omission and because Gou thinks it’s more fun with more people), everything became louder and much more interesting. Nagisa always arrived earlier, through the window as usual (Rin made it clear to Momo that only Nagisa was allowed through the window, with the explanation that it was easier to go through there than the front door if you’re outside), and pestered Rin about various things. Sometimes it was his desserts, or sometimes it was his books. Either way, Nagisa  _loved_ those early morning talks. Momo was his favorite person, but Rin was climbing up that list pretty fast too. And while he loved spending time with everyone together, talking with Rin before everyone woke up was special.

Today, Rin was making a batch of whole-wheat carrot cake muffins for the health conscious people who drops by every weekend on their way to the gym. Nagisa wasn’t even sure  _why_ you would put carrots on your muffin. It’s a vegetable!

“I’ll make spinach muffins next week,” Rin said, smug. He knew Nagisa didn’t like vegetables anywhere near his desserts, and that Nagisa couldn’t complain anyway. He ate everything Rin made. It was an unspoken rule to be able to continue eating his strawberry-filled muffins.

It wasn’t necessarily a  _chore_ to eat them, anyway. The only vegetable Nagisa was willing to eat was the ones in Rin’s muffins. He has  _magic_. They somehow taste good and not-like-vegetables-at-all.

“Bleugh,” he said in response, sticking out his tongue. “Rin-chan wants me to  _suffer_.”

“Healthy eating is a good choice, Nagisa,” Rin said, in the same intonation he’s used in the last ten or so times he said that. He believed Nagisa’s diet of energy drinks and sweets was unbecoming of a teacher, or of any decent adult.

Well, Nagisa believed life was short, and therefore you must eat your desserts first. It was a matter of principle. He didn’t want to talk about healthy living from someone who jogged around the neighborhood everyday after baking (and  _not eating_ ) muffins. Nagisa was just restoring balance to the world because of the anomaly that was Rin. They clearly have to just accept this difference in opinions.

“Anyway!” Nagisa grabbed his bag from the floor and rummaged inside before brandishing his copy of  _Silence_ , the second book in Rin’s  _Lost In Space_ trilogy. “I’ve come prepared!”

Rin shot him one suspicion-filled look before going back to shredding the carrots. “Prepared for what?”

“Twenty questions!,” he announced, hands up in the air. He placed the book down and said in his best impersonation of an announcer on TV: “Interview the very popular and sought-after mysterious author, M. Taiga!”

“I show up on books signings, Nagisa. I’m not  _mysterious_.”

“Sshhh!” Nagisa opened the book to a particular page, one with a beautiful illustration of the sky seen from the surface of his fictional Venus. “First question: are there penguins in Pluto?”

The random question had the wonderful effect of making Rin laugh. “I told you, I won’t do that!,” he said, chuckling. “Quit it with the penguins already.”

“Then…” Now, this was the tricky part. Was he in a good enough mood to share or would he be annoyed? Only one way to find out. “Are your characters based on anyone?” When he became closer friends with Gou, he started wondering if the astronaut main character named Sou was actually based on her.

Rin put the carrot down and stared at him, perceptive eyes roaming his expression. “You found out, huh?” In the mood to share, then.

“Sou-chan is really based on Gou-chan?,” he asked, grinning.

“ _Oh_ , that’s what you figured out.” Rin nodded, eyeing the book with a small smile. “They say you should write about the person you know most, and for others it’s probably themselves, but for me, that’s Gou.”

Nagisa felt warmth spread in his chest. Those two really loved each other so much, and it was always so obvious in everything they did. Being able to see that everyday was a gift.

Backtracking what Rin said, he then asked, “But there are others?”

Rin raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t notice anyone else?”

“Oh! Did you add me in?!”  _Was it possible to add someone you just met a few months ago?_

Rin rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t have done that even if I wanted to,  _which I don’t_.”

“Hey!” Nagisa pouted. “I’d be a  _great_ character. I’d be a great mermaid, even.”

“Nah, I doubt that.”

“I could be! You know it!”

“A goldfish, maybe,” Rin murmured, going back to his task. “Or a parrot.”

“I’d be the best parrot in the whole history of fiction.” Nagisa nodded to himself. “I definitely would be.” When Rin didn’t reply anymore, he asked, “If it’s not me, then who? I don’t know any- Is it Momo?”

“No.”

“But-” Nagisa went still as he was hit by the answer. Rin glanced at him, and seemed to realize that Nagisa understood already, so he looked back down and turned his back fully. “Rin-chan,” he called out, frowning. “Are you  _bragging_?”

Rin spun back with a surprised expression. “Excuse me?”

“You think  _you’re_ Rinne _?”_ Rinne was the prince of the water-dwelling mermen on the other side of Venus, an evil man who did everything his father told him to do no matter the consequences. He was one of the reasons why the astronaut couldn’t go back to Earth in the first book. “Don’t you know Rinne is a fan favorite?” Despite whatever Rinne did, he was multi-faceted and people sympathised with his desire to make his father proud. Rei has spent so much time explaining to Nagisa how Rinne wasn’t completely bad, that there was subtext other people didn’t see.

The revelation shocked Rin so much that he just stood there with his jaw gaping.

“Tsk, tsk,” Nagisa snickered. “Some even say Rinne and the mermaid ‘Spring’ had some tension and that they were probably secretly lovers before.”

Rin swayed to the side, hand gripping the kitchen counter to make sure he won’t fall. “What the hell are the readers thinking?”

“I didn’t really see it until Rei-chan– ah he’s the one who gave me the books – he told me! And then I reread their talk, and it was  _true_.” Nagisa enjoyed the way Rin paled and stared at the book in horror. “You know, in the internet, you should read the-”

“Nope! No mention of fanfictions!” Rin shouted, eyes wide and hand outstretched in front of him. “I’m scarred as it is.”

“Was Spring based on someone?,” Nagisa asked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

To his surprise, Rin sighed and nodded. “My ex.” Without further explanation, he went back to mixing the dry ingredients with the shredded carrots and the applesauce. He mixed mechanically, not looking back even once.

Nagisa stared at him for a few seconds, waiting, but when no more information was forthcoming, he decided to ask. “University girlfriend?”

“ _Boy_ friend,” Rin clarified, a bit stiltedly. “He was a swimmer.”

“Oh.”  _Oh_. Rin was gay? Bisexual? Rin liked  _boys_. (Nagisa was a boy!)

Nagisa took a deep breath, unsure. He did not expect this conversation to go this way.

“So…” The word was drawn out, his mind trying to decide where he wanted to go from here. Seeing the tension on Rin’s back, Nagisa saw no other way but to ease the awkwardness away from him. “Whowrites about exes, seriously? Rin-chan’s so weird. I won’t write about my ex-boyfriends!” He saw Rin tentatively glance at him, so he upped the act, crossing his arms and pouting. “I once had a boyfriend, in college, who wanted to be a travelling magician. Which was really cool, you know? But he wanted to try and chop me up in half!”

Rin laughed in surprise, relaxing bit by bit as Nagisa continued talking about his magician ex. This wasn’t the way Nagisa imagined this conversation to go, but as he watched Rin laugh and offer him a used mixing spoon, he figured it was a good morning anyway.

**\- - -**

“I need to learn how to bake a cake,” Nagisa confided one morning. “I want to bake Momo-chan a cake.”

Rin just nodded, focusing on chopping the strawberries into identical sizes. It was one of those days when he felt particularly accommodating, letting Nagisa choose the dessert he wanted for the morning. He must have written a good chapter the day before. Gou mentioned yesterday that Rin was locked in his room, not even getting out for food. Writers are  _so weird_.

“Can you teach me?,” he asked. “You’re my  _only hope,_ Rin-chan.”

“Nagisa, there’s a youtube tutorial for literally  _anything_. You can do that,” he answered dismissively.

“But Rin-chan! I already tried that!” He held his hand forward, shaking it to get Rin’s attention. There was a bandaid in each finger, and a bandage on his palm. (His students laughed when they saw, because children are evil.) “Look!”

Rin looked back and promptly put down the knife on the side. He rushed forward, cradling Nagisa’s hand on both of his. “How the hell do you get this hurt from making a cake?!” He squeezed Nagisa’s wrist, looking absurdly worried. He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t set your whole apartment on fire, did you?”

“I didn’t!” He shook his head. Then, in a quieter tone, he added, “Just one tiny corner…? The firemen said it was nothing!”

“ _Firemen?!_ ”

\- - -

And so another routine was born. Rin prohibited Nagisa from using a kitchen but the Matsuoka’s when it comes to baking, and in turn, Rin would teach him to bake whatever cake he wanted to give Momo. So aside from their Saturday breakfasts, a Sunday Afternoon Baking Lesson was added.

“I wanna make a peach-shaped one! With a Pyunsuke inside!” Nagisa decided brightly.

“Peach… shaped…” Rin stared at him, the way he always did when he just couldn’t fathom what happened inside Nagisa’s head. “Why don’t we settle for an easier one? I don’t even know how to do the shape-  _WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”_

Nagisa stopped unfastening his belt, eyes wide and innocent. “What? My butt looks like a peach!” It  _does_. He’s been told his butt looked like a fresh peach. It’s the perfect model.

“What kind of reasoning-”

Just as Rin had his hand on Nagisa’s arm, Gou walked into the kitchen, freezing when she saw the position they were in. “I- Ah-” She stepped back, eyes darting towards their hands and Nagisa’s belt then Rin’s shocked expression. “I’ll just- I should-” She glanced at the door. “I’m gonna buy something!” She ran out.

“It’s not what it looks like!,” Rin shouted, hand outstretched towards her retreating back. He stepped back, kicking Nagisa on the shin lightly. “This is all your fault!” He sat down on the bar chair, sighing deeply. “I’m going to _kill_ you.”

There was a moment of silence before- before Nagisa burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it! Rin looked so  _funny_.

“Stop laughing at this!” Rin said, slapping his arm in reprimand. “Stop!” But he was starting to smile then too. And before long, he was chuckling alongside Nagisa. “Aaah… I’d have to explain to Gou now. Good thing stripping in the middle of nowhere is believable when it comes to you.”

“You say that but you’re the one who walks around in your boxers in the morning,” Nagisa shot back with a cheeky grin.

“It’s  _my_ apartment. You’re the one who climbs into people’s windows.”

Nagisa stuck out his tongue. It always came back to that. “I bet you’re glad I climbed through your window, though.”

Rin glanced at him with this soft smile Nagisa thought was only for Gou, but was apparently for him now too. (His heart might have done backflips at the thought.) “Nah,” he uttered, raising a hand to ruffle Nagisa’s hair. “If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have to figure out how to make a peach-shaped cake.”

“My butt-”

“No.” Rin interjected, serious for a moment before he burst out laughing again. “There is the internet for that.”

“We’re gonna look at pictures of butts?,” Nagisa asked, giggling.

“Stuuuupid,” Rin tugged at his arm. “Come on. We’re gonna research how to make peach-shaped cake.”

Nagisa groaned. “ _Augh,_ I hate research!”

Rin just laughed at him some more. “How are you a teacher, again?”

\- - -

The birthday celebration was held in  _Kouffee_  after hours. Everything was perfectly planned. There was a huge [Happy Birthday, Momo-kun!] banner that Nitori made; he might act like he was being forced to interact with Momo sometimes, but he was probably the one who wanted to make this event happen the most. Then, there was food that Gou bought from Momo’s favorite diner down the block. Nagisa had the cake in his-

“OH!”

Gou looked at Nagisa in worry. “What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“I left it,” Nagisa said. He leaned forward. “It’s in your fridge.”

“What?” Gou frowned. “We could… We could give it to him later when we go home?”

“But it’s a  _birthday cake_ ,” Nagisa complained. “He has to blow the candles.” He sat down on the ground, thinking deeply. Then, he snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. He took his phone out. “Rin-chan’s home, right?”

“Nagisa-kun…” Gou was already shaking his head. “You know he won’t come here.”

“He can, though!  _I_  baked that cake!” Nagisa insisted. “Besides, Momo-chan would love to have him here.” Momo’s admiration for the Matsuoka siblings just increased exponentially every time they ate breakfast together. “This is perfect!”

Gou knew he was right, it was obvious from the way she just sighed and shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”

 

Momo arrived before Rin even replied, eyes wide and sparkling the way they were when he wanted to jump around in excitement. The moment the party poppers were set off, Momo was already throwing himself at the three of them with a large smile on his face. “GUYS! I thought you forgot!,” he wailed, sniffling into Nitori’s arms. They had pretended to be clueless about what day it was today, which was hard because Momo wasn’t subtle at all about reminding them.

“Of course we remembered, silly,” Nagisa nuzzled to his side, giggling. “Gou-chan prepared lots of food, you know? Are you happy?”

“Yes!” Momo showed them a thumbs up before hopping over to the table where they placed the food. “My favorite!”

Gou and Nitori went over to greet him and probably distract him, while Nagisa went off to the side to check his phone for news.

Still no reply. Maybe he should just go and get it himself? He picked up his bag and was about to go when he heard the chime on the door ringing.

“Hey-”

“RIN-SAN!” Momo looked so excited, looking ready to throw himself at Rin to give him a welcoming hug.

“NO!” Nagisa watched with wide eyes as Momo jumped, feeling like he was watching the scene in slow motion. He could just imagine: the cake he worked so hard on, splattered all over the ground.

Luckily, Rin stepped out of the way immediately and saved the cake from falling down and being ruined. “Careful, kid,” he uttered, steadying Momo with a hand on his shoulder.

Momo recovered easily enough, grinning wide. “You came!,” he exclaimed happily. “You brought me a gift?!” He leaned forward to peek at what Rin was holding away. “What is it? What is it?!”

Gou swooped in to take the cake to safety, placing it on the middle of the table of food. “Nagisa-kun baked you a cake,” she said.

“NAGISACHI!!! Thank you!”

As Nagisa and Momo hugged it out one more time, Rin went over to Gou who was smiling widely like it was also her birthday. She must be really proud of him for coming here on his own.

In the midst of all that, they stopped when they heard the awed whisper of “Taiga-san…” coming from a frozen Nitori.

Momo let go of Nagisa and walked over to Nitori, waving a hand in front of his face. “Boss Gou-chan, I think Nitori-senpai is in shock.” He poked at Nitori’s shoulder, giggling when he didn’t move at all.

Nagisa dragged Rin to come closer, pointing towards Nitori with a flourish. “This is Nitori Aiichirou-kun. He’s your fan. He thinks you’re  _nice,_ ” he introduced. “Ai-chan,” he said, watching as Nitori slowly came to his senses. He was blushing. It was so cute. “This is Rin-chan, the mysterious M. Taiga.”

“Not mysterious,” Rin muttered before clearing his throat. “Uh, Rin Matsuoka. Nice to meet you.” He offered a hand.

Nitori eyed the hand with reverence, not moving until Momo bodily took his hand and placed it in Rin’s. “N-nice to meet you, Ta- I mean, Rin-san.”

As Nagisa watched the two talk, he felt something settle in his gut.  _Ah_ , he thought as he looked around,  _everyone’s together now_. It felt good, to be inside the cafe with everyone special in his life.

**\- - -**

It was roughly six months before Nagisa climbed through the window drunk again. Not like he was  _drunk_  exactly, just a bit tipsy really. He went out with the other teachers for a while, celebrating the end of the semester. The trains were still running but he figured he wanted to see Rin anyway, so he bought a new pack of beer and climbed the window expertly.

No one was in the living room, so he went towards Rin room and knocked. “Rin-chan~!” For a few seconds, there was no sound. And then suddenly, the door was being opened, sending Nagisa, who was leaning on it, toppling inside. “Oof!”

“I’m not in the mood,” Rin greeted, scowling. “We’re not a hotel.”

Nagisa stood up and held the plastic in his hand up. “I brought beer and creampuffs,” he offered. “You need to relax, Rin-chan.” Rin looked stressed out, more than he’s been in the last couple of days. He must be reaching his limit.

Rin scanned the plastic dubiously, but nodded. “Come in,” he went back to his bed, sitting with his back on the headboard and watching Nagisa expectantly.

Nagisa blinked. “Rin-chan’s room?”

“Yes, Nagisa. It’s my room. What did you expect?”

“No!” Nagisa pouted. “I mean, we always sit there!” He pointed to the couch. “You never let anyone in here!” He thought it was another one of those weird writer traits. Territorial of their writing space, or something.

“I’m not in the mood,” Rin repeated, shrugging. “Come here.” He patted the bed at his side.

A slow grin appeared on his lips. “Excuse me for my intrusion!” He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

 

“This creampuff sucks,” Rin slurred, his head resting on top of Nagisa’s. He has to be careful when he talks because earlier he tried to speak but ended up with blonde hair on his mouth. “I bet I can make a better one,” he said.

“But it’s the  _best_ creampuffs,” Nagisa explained, patting the arm he had around Nagisa’s shoulders. “My students gave it to me as a thank you gift, Rin-chan. It’s  _sweet_.”

“I’ll give you something sweeter,” Rin murmured, almost sleepily. “Wait, wait, I need to write that down.” He scrambled off the bed, taking the pen on the bedside table and scribbling a note on the post-it. “Make NagiPuffs.”

“NagiPuffs,” Nagisa echoed, giggling. “Jigglypuff, NagiPuff, gotta catch em all~” he sang under his breath. “Pokemon~”

Rin chuckled, easing back to Nagisa’s side. “You’re weird,” he said.

“You  _like_ weird,” Nagisa shot back, grinning.

“I don’t~” Rin said in an uncharacteristically peppy voice. The alcohol was having a stronger effect on him, evidently. “But I like you.” He nodded. “You’re okay.”

“I’m  _great_.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Rin scoffed, pinching him on the side. “Only Gou’s great.”

Nagisa giggled at that. “You think Gou-chan’s the  _best_.”

“Well, she is,” Rin argued. “She’s best-er than you.”

Nagisa laughed more. “Rin-chan, Rin-chan, say that again.”

“Best-er,” he said, laughing as well. “More best! Wait-” He scrunched up his nose. “Better at being best!” He groaned. “I can’t be a writer anymore.”

“It’s okay, at least you still have Gou-chan!”

“I can’t be here if I’m not a writer,” Rin said in a whine, head back on resting against Nagisa. “My mom going to rise up from the dead and  _kill me_. She’s going to be so disappointed and then Gou will  _hate_ me and then my  _dad_ will rise up from the dead and  _hate_ me too.” He hid his face on Nagisa’s hair, moaning in distress. “I don’t want my dad to hate me… I’m trying my best to make him popular…”

“Make him popular?”

Rin was barely awake now, just mumbling “Taiga…” repeatedly under his breath, and then seconds later, his breathing evened out.

Nagisa closed his eyes and snuggled closer, letting sleep take him as well.

**\- - -**

The next morning, Nagisa woke up slowly, registering the feel of the bed and the warmth around him as foreign. He’s not in his own bed, is he? He’s not on a couch either.

He looked up just in time to see the door open.

“Nagisa-kun!” Gou’s eyes were wide, mouth hanging open as he took in the scene in front of him. “I  _knew_ it,” she whispered to herself knowingly. “You didn’t have to hide it from me,” she continued. “I  _love_ you and you’re welcome to stay in and I’m really-”

Rin sat up, groaning. “Shuttup,” he mumbled. “’s not what it looks like.” He stood up slowly, eyes still closed. He walked forward towards the door and out the room without looking back.

“Yeah,” Nagisa laughed a bit. “We just fell asleep.” He pointed towards the box of creampuffs and the empty cans of beer. “We might have drunk too much…”

Gou glanced at the litters on the side of the bed. “Heh,” she smirked. “He let you in and ate  _creampuffs_ with you? Close enough.”

“What does that mean?” Nagisa asked, tilting his head to the right. He was not awake enough for this conversation.

“He doesn’t like sweets, remember?”

**\- - -**

A week later, there was a new item in Kouffee’s menu.

 **[NagiPuff]** , the menu said.  **[Sweeter than success]**

Gou looked smug the whole time Nagisa was eating it. To be honest, Nagisa was feeling pretty smug too.

**\- - -**

It took another month before Nagisa could breach the topic of what Rin said when he was drunk. Just like how he didn’t experience any hangover, he didn’t forget anything when he’s drunk either. Rin was the opposite type, it seemed. He was weak to alcohol, acted out-of-character when drunk, and had blackouts and hangovers. Maybe that was why Rin didn’t drink often.

“Hey.” Nagisa turned to the kitchen from where he was sitting on the couch watching TV. It was a Sunday, and while the Baking Classes stopped right after Momo’s birthday, it felt like routine enough that it just got modified into Sunday Afternoon Movie Time. For Nagisa, at least. Rin just either baked or typed on his laptop.

Today, he was typing on the kitchen table. From what Nagisa has seen the last time he peeked at the screen (Rin hit him on the head for it), he was typing the last book of the trilogy.

Rin was so engrossed on writing that he didn’t hear Nagisa.

While he wasn’t the most patient person, Nagisa leaned his chin on the backrest of the couch and waited. Watching Rin was interesting too, in a way. His eyes had a shine when he wrote particularly interesting scenes, and the carefree smile on his face was breathtakingly beautiful. He looked so  _relaxed_. But then, sometimes he’d frown with this little furrow in his eyebrows, chewing on his lower lip. That frustration was a different kind of cute.

He sighed to himself.

That was so cheesy. He’s got it  _bad_.

He looked up again, only to see Rin looking back at him with a quizzical brow. “What is it?,” Rin asked.

“Will you give Rinne a good ending?”

Rin blinked. “What?”

“Will you give Rinne a good ending?,” Nagisa repeated slower. “I just think you should.”

“He’s the antagonist. No one wants him to have a good ending,” Rin said, looking down again. He had a deep frown on his face. “I don’t.”

“Rin-chan, I told you! Rinne has fans!” He crossed his arms petulantly. “I’m a fan! Rei-chan is a fan! I think Momo-chan was convinced too!”

Rin gave him the stink eye. “Stop convincing people to like unlikeable characters.”

“Rinne  _isn’t_ unlikeable, though. He’s been pressured his entire life and doesn’t know any other way to live. He didn’t kill Sou when he could have done so, numerous times even! He let Spring out of the castle instead of keeping her captive. He’s not  _bad_.”

“Well, he’s not strong either.” Rin went back to typing, the clacking of the keyboard much louder now, as if he was taking his frustrations on it. “He could have fought for Spring. He could have helped Sou get out of Venus. He could have disobeyed his father, but he didn’t.” He spat out the last one with disgust. “He doesn’t  _deserve_ a happy ending.”

“He doesn’t?” Nagisa asked, quietly. “You know, I like Rinne a lot because he reminds me of some of the children I teach. He even reminds me of myself sometimes.”

Rin grew quiet, watching Nagisa as he continued.

“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of going on adventures. I wanted to be an astronaut! Or a treasure hunter!” He laughed quietly, reminiscing. “But my dad had a trading company, and I was the only son. We all had our future positions. My eldest sister took on accountancy, my other sister took business courses. The last one became a lawyer. I was supposed to get a business degree too, be the next president and all.

“From the moment I stepped into middle school, they reminded me to keep at it. To always, always focus on the maths and sciences.” He looked down. “It didn’t feel good, though. I liked history and arts more. I loved learning about people and the way the world developed from the past. Math was so…  _cold_.”

“But you’re a teacher now,” Rin prompted, urging him on.

“I left home when I graduated high school,” he explained, smiling softly. “Momo-chan and his family let me stay with them.”

“Momo did?”

Nagisa laughed, nodding. “He said he’ll run away too if they don’t let me stay. We both took part-time jobs to pay my ‘rent’. Auntie didn’t really take the money but she liked that it made Momo work, so she didn’t stop us.”

“That’s amazing,” Rin said in awe.

“That’s why I think Rinne should have a happy ending,” Nagisa finished.

“Wait.” Rin raised a hand, shaking his head. “That’s wrong, isn’t it? Rinne isn’t like you at all. You ran away from home. You fought back.”

“Did I?,” Nagisa wondered out loud. “You just said I ran away.”

“Even so.” Rin shook his head once again. “You didn’t let them poison you into something…  _inhuman_. That’s plenty better than Rinne ever did.”

“But Rinne’s story isn’t over yet! We still got the third book!”

Rin sighed. “I don’t even know what you think would be a happy ending for him. All he wants is to be like his father.”

Nagisa hummed, watching Rin’s expression. “Is it?”

Rin narrowed his eyes at him.

“Maybe Rinne just wanted to be like his father as respect, or to honor him, or-”

“What did Gou tell you?” Rin asked, wary.

 _Bingo!_  “She didn’t tell me anything,” he said. “You did.”

Rin looked confused for a second before realization came in. “ _Fuck_ ,” he muttered, scowling. “That’s unfair.”

“I’m sorry,” Nagisa offered honestly. He knew it wasn’t a secret he was supposed to know. “But now I know, and I want to understand. Is that why you’re so protective of the name?”

There was a long silence followed by a deep sigh. “My father’s name was Toraichi,” he shared, obviously giving up on the effort to fend off Nagisa’s questions. They both knew Nagisa was as stubborn as a mule. “He was a writer, and his pen name was ‘Taiga’. He didn’t really…” He paused, cleared his throat, then went on. “He didn’t debut as a proper novel writer. He kept on writing and writing and he died in exhaustion. Such a lame way to die,” he laughed humorlessly. “But I thought he was passionate. I looked up to him so much. My mom, she- She was an iron woman. Worked hard for all of us, fed us since my dad didn’t earn much. She was strong, but she didn’t take my dad’s death well…

“She worked harder and when she realized I had the talent to become a writer, she, uh, well, I was her project, I guess?” His eyes were unfocused, a pained expression on his face. “My dad had this dream draft he never got to write.  _Venus_. It’s my dad’s book.”

Nagisa frowned. “But you wrote it. You wrote  _Silence,_ too. Those are your books, even if the premise was his idea.” Rin has written two long sci-fi novels, with elegant imagery and witty dialogue, and he thinks it was all because of his  _dad_?

“I’m just fulfilling his dream,” he said sadly.

“And after the third book, what then?”

“I’ll-” Rin frowned, hands freezing above the keyboard. “I’ll…”

“Write more books, because you’re  _totally_ awesome and everyone loves your work?” Nagisa filled in for him. Rin enjoyed writing the books, Nagisa knew that. This might have been his father’s dream, but this became Rin’s too. He loved his characters and took good care of them. “Because Rin-chan, you know, I can  _see_ the future. You’re going to be great. And Gou-chan will continue being proud of you as she is right now.”

Rin kept quiet, eyes trained on the laptop. Using Gou-chan’s name was another unfair thing, but Rin had to  _know_ how proud Gou was of him. If it would make this easier, then he’d use all the unfair things he knew.

“And you’ll still bake me muffins and make a character based on me and dedicate the third book to me!” Nagisa nodded repeatedly, completely sure of his prediction. He heard Rin snort a little in surprise, but he continued. “And when the third book is out, you’ll go to Kouffee and give us all a free copy and sign the copies. And  _then_  you’ll bake me a cake and ask me out.”

When Rin looked up, the sadness was almost completely gone, replaced by the familiar amused-confusion that Nagisa always brings out in people. “You sound extremely positive of that,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

Nagisa shrugged, smiling brightly. “Maa,” he said. “You’re easy to read. Like an open book.” He wriggled his eyebrows, laughing. “Right?”

Rin groaned, but he ended up laughing at Nagisa’s corny joke anyway.

**\- - -**

“Are you going to date Nagisachi?” Momo barged into their Saturday breakfast with narrowed eyes and with his arms crossed in front of him. “Are you?”

“Are you asking me or him?,” Gou asked calmly from where she was seated. Nagisa and Rin were still arguing in the couch about something in the books. She pointed at them and said, “There is literally no space in between them, by the way.”

Momo saluted to Gou and marched over to Rin, leaning uncomfortably close to his face. “Rin-san,” he said. “Nagisachi is a very special member of the Mikoshiba family.”

Rin leaned back, grimacing. “I know,” he said.

“If you hurt him, my brother will throw you into the sea,” he threatened. “In _pieces_.”

A look of fear actually passed through Rin’s expression, before he schooled it back to his normal frown. “Right. Sure.”

Momo nodded and stood straighter, this time looking at Nagisa. “And Nagisachi, if he hurts you, you  _have_ to tell me. Because I’m your favorite.”

Nagisa giggled, standing up and hugging Momo’s arm. “Of  _course_  I’ll tell you. You’ll always be my favorite.”

“Okay!” Momo grinned and pulled Nagisa to the kitchen table. “Let’s eat!”

Rin watched the three talk, disbelief written all over his face. “We’re not dating yet!,” he announced, even though no one was listening anymore.

**\- - -**

The next few months was a test on Rin’s patience, with how Momo tried to be intimidating every other chance they talked, and Gou being a smug brat who implied a lot of thing that  _weren’t even happening_ , and Nagisa who seemed to make it his life goal to just pester Rin about everything.

(“Have you decided on a character based on me yet?”

“No, and I  _never will_.”

“I  _told_ you, I’ll be the  _bestest_ character ever.”

“I’d rather write about Pluto Penguins than make a character based on you. And  _bestest_ isn’t even a word.”

“Oh! I could be a Pluto Penguin. I’d be  _great_ at it.”

“I swear to god, I don’t understand you.”)

(”You should make a NagiPuff version 2.0″

“I won’t make a strawberry cream-filled creampuff, Nagisa. I’m busy finishing my book.”

“Oooh strawberry cream-filled?! Sounds like you’re planned all of it already! Good job, Rin-chan! I’ll wait for it!”

“Do you ever actually listen when I talk?”)

(”Nagisa Hazuki, I am literally going to kill Rinne if you steal another muffin from this basket.”

“RIN-CHAN NO!!!”)

 **\- - -**  

And so Nagisa’s routines went on: eating breakfast with Momo and the Matsuokas every Saturday, watching movies with Rin on Sundays, going to Kouffee every weekday… It was nice. A comfortable axis he spun on everyday, with the special people in his life right there beside him.

Of course, they all knew there was still one thing left for it to reach perfection.

“Here it is!” Gou placed the book down in front of Nagisa, grinning widely. “The third book!” They were at the coffee shop, since the book was released early on a Friday.

In front of the book, in blue glossy, embossed font, was the title  _Freedom_. The image in front was simply Sou’s hand stretched towards the Venus sky.

“Come on! Open it!” Gou was probably as excited as he was.

He took a deep breath and nodded, gently tearing off the plastic. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening it to the first page.

**[For Drunken Nights and Your Sweet Tooth]**

That was it. The acknowledgements. Nagisa felt that all-too-familiar squeeze in his chest. Rin was the  _corniest_.

Gou peeked at it and promptly squealed in glee. “That’s so  _cute_.”

“Shuttup,” Rin said, from where he was in the mini kitchen of the coffee shop. If Nagisa would listen closely, he’d probably hear Nitori hyperventilating in excitement somewhere in the shop. “It’s not  _cute_.”

“It’s  _romantic_ ,” Nagisa said, laughing at Rin’s responsive grimace. “Rin-chan’s such a romantic. I can’t wait to see how it ends…”

Rin walked closer then, a small box in hand. “I thought you can see the future?,” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, I can,” Nagisa shot back, leaning forward on the counter to peek at the box. “I know what’s in that box!”

“Yeah?” Rin looked so smug. Gou looked just as smug, really.

“A muffin!,” Nagisa exclaimed. “With a confession!”

“Wrong~” Gou giggled and patted Nagisa on the arm. “It’s a  _promise_ ,” she said, walking off to her office to give them the privacy.

Rin stopped in front of Nagisa, at the other side of the counter, and placed the box in front of him. “Yeah,” he said, in a sigh. “It’s a promise.”

Nagisa looked down and took off the cover, gasping in pleasure when he saw what was inside. A  _pink creampuff_. “NagiPuff Version 2.0,″ he said in understanding. “You’re so  _corny_.”

“Someone told me giving a creampuff was  _sweet_ though.” He was smiling that fond smile again, the one that made him look relaxed and completely happy. It was a good look on him.

"Well..." Nagisa laughed, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. “ _Maybe a little sweet_.”

The kiss Rin gave him back was probably sweeter than any of the muffins he ever baked.

**Author's Note:**

> I am moeblobmegane @ tumblr. Also. I personally want to write more of this verse. Just because Penguins in Pluto, I guess. I am Nagisa, Nagisa is me.


End file.
